She did a mental calculation. “Somewhere between thirty-five and fifty? But I don’t know how we’d get them all safely through a portal. The last one didn’t work out too well.” She saw the sudden change in the Professor’s expression. “Why? How many do you think we’d need?”
He looked her squarely in the eye. “More than one-and-a-half million.”
~ 54 ~
Protests
The brick sailed through the supermarket’s window and shattered the large plate-glass display, and showered the closest group of protesters with shards of glass. A roar of approval rose up from the crowd, and those not picking glass from their clothing moved forward to clamber through, clutching empty bags and boxes.
A small police presence stood to one side, and made no move to intercept the looters. Chief Inspector Bolton stood next to a nearby squad car and lowered his loudhailer. He turned to Sergeant Crawford. “Nothing’s going to stop them now, except maybe the riot squad.”
Crawford nodded. “They’re on their way, Guv. But by the time they get ’ere, this lot will be long gone.”
“And who can blame them?” CI Bolton rubbed his stomach enviously. The closure of shipping channels had led to the imposition of a rationing system. One that wasn’t working, he thought, looking at the several hundred or so ordinary members of the public climbing through the broken window, engaged in brazen theft. For the last couple of days, all he and his men had seemed to do was run from one public disturbance to another. If it wasn’t a looting, it was another march against secret brain research.
Crawford was tapping him on the shoulder. “Yes, Crawford. What is it?”
“Guv. On the radio. Sergeant Jones is reporting an angry mob wiv’ signs is marchin’ on the Town Hall. They want the Mayor to give them the names and addresses of anyone suspected of being one of them spy-kids.”
Bolton sighed. “Psi-kids. Here, take this”—he gave the loudhailer to the other man—“we’d better go and straighten them out. The Mayor wouldn’t have a clue—and even if he did, he wouldn’t tell them.”
Sergeant Crawford jerked his thumb at the crowd ransacking the supermarket. “What do we do about this lot?”
Bolton shrugged. “Leave them to it. By the looks of what I’ve seen on the news, there’s much worse to come. Much worse.” He looked over at the crowds again, shook his head, then got into the squad car.
~~~
SSERVI Bulletin WH0094
Status: Classified Level RED
Attn: Cleared Staff
Cross-correlation from all major observatories now confirms the following facts:
The Solar System is being gravitationally distorted by a phenomenon known as a wormhole, a physical singularity originally proposed by Einstein and Rosen, and later discounted. Their theory is being reinstated in application to this incident.
The possibility of a rotating micro-black hole in the vicinity of the Solar System has been put forward by several parties independently. This hypothesis is currently under investigation and more information will be forthcoming in the next bulletin.
The Solar System appears to be being dragged into this gravitational event, whose location is as yet unknown, but predicted to be inside or close to the Earth. Earth’s moon is losing orbit rapidly and will eventually succumb to disintegration. The rate of change in the moon’s orbit is accelerating. To date, no other hypothesis has been put forward to explain the acceleration.
Impacts so far have been limited to weather-related events. All low-lying regions have been, or will be, evacuated. Some countries located close to sea-level, for example: the Seychelles, the Maldives, the Torres Strait Islands, have already been declared disaster areas due to excessive tidal ranges rendering them uninhabitable. The number of these disaster areas is expected to increase significantly over the next week.
Predicted future impact: Apart from the acceleration of the moon’s descent, so far the general movement of the Sun toward the Earth is too slow to render any significant changes to our diurnal climate, however, two observatories have reported a sudden change in measures. These changes are as yet unverified, but the sources are credible, and should this be the case, then we expect radical changes in world-wide public safety to be implemented, beginning in most countries with martial law.
To date there is no proposed solution or defence system to the hypothesised wormhole.
SSERVI thanks everyone involved in the early detection of these issues. We expect the next announcements will be via our respective military departments, but in the meantime we ask you to be vigilant and not alarm the public.
Regards,
SSERVI [Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute. Formerly NASA Lunar Science Institute]: Emergency Moon Tracking Committee
~~~
“Pfft.” Ashley clicked the SSERVI classified document closed and leaned back in her chair. Reading between the lines, SSERVI was running scared. No one could figure out what was going on; no government agency had owned up to knowing anything about it; and no one had a solution. She rubbed the back of her neck, then stretched both arms. As far as she could tell, they were in for a bumpy ride, and in all likelihood witnessing the end of their days. The scientist in her was fascinated, but the woman was scared.
She jumped as the phone rang, and peered at the caller ID out of habit, already knowing who it would be. She picked it up. “TJ. I’m guessing you just read what I did?”
“Yup.” TJ didn’t sound his usual jaunty self. “They haven’t got a clue, have they?”
“No. What do we do now?”
“I think it’s every man for himself, if I read it correctly.”
“Yeah, I get that. And I think you meant every man and every woman. But I meant: what do we do now?”
TJ was quiet for a while. “I think we abandon everything and work full-time to uncover what no one else seems to be able to.”
“What’s that?”
“More information about those sudden changes we picked up. The ones that supposedly need verifying. And we find out the exact location of this ... thing.”
Ashley tapped her pencil on the desk. “Right. Because once we know precisely where the issue originates, we might be able to figure out exactly what it is.”
“And once we find out exactly what it is ...”
“Go on, TJ. Once we find that out, then what?”
There was silence from the other end of the phone.
“I thought so.”
~~~
The swarthy man tapped a button on the console in front of him and six screens lit up on the opposite wall of his underground bunker. Each screen displayed one silhouetted head. “Good evening, everyone. I have called this emergency meeting to discuss our next steps. We have not yet heard from The Shadow, but recent events present us with some new possibilities, should we act quickly.”
“What do you propose?” The disembodied voice belonged to an older male, and originated from one of the screens to the left. The swarthy man looked up at the faceless figure on the screen.
“I propose we take advantage of the spreading panic, and make our moves on the key pillars of command.”
“You suggest we take power?” The woman’s voice sounded incredulous.
He rolled his eyes. “Of course not. I propose we make contact and offer our services to infiltrate these so-called anti-psi groups who are causing the general public safety issues, and shut them down. Who are they to know that we already control these groups?”
“Then why would we shut them down?” The older man again.
“We don’t.” His patience was growing thin. “That’s what we tell them, and that’s what they will pay us for. We can prove we have influence by shutting down a few key marches here and there.”
“And then?”
“And then we do the opposite. We employ every tactic we know to make S.E.E.K. the biggest public problem for every government everywhere. Once we—”
“I don’t see how this will help.” Th
e woman interrupted. “So they have their hands full. What then?”
He sighed. “When the Shadow returns with the device, we shut down S.E.E.K., thus proving our capabilities and having all our potential customers so relieved, they will be eating out of our hands. We will have our choice of the ultimate bidder for the device—on our own terms. We will not only control the weapon’s destination, but we will easily be granted power alongside it.”
“Our power may be short-lived, if the classified reports from SSERVI are to be believed.” A gruff voice from the screen on the far right.
The swarthy man shrugged. “Perhaps matters such as this are beyond even our reach.” He leaned forward. “But if we truly are facing the end of our days, wouldn’t you rather be the one controlling where the food goes and which safe bunkers the military is defending?”
~ 55 ~
Return Of The Orange Witch
“Why do they call you the Orange Witch?” Rona looked over at Sarina. The conversation had come to an abrupt halt after Malden’s revelation about the huge numbers of kids that would be needed. Sarina had felt the chasm of defeat right there in front of them. What would it be like, being sucked into some other universe? And poor Lena. All this time, believing her father had been killed in a terrible accident, then discovering by chance a photo no one else thought to examine more closely. Only to have it dismissed it as a young girl’s misguided dream. But the brave girl had followed her own intuition, and had made contact with Makthryg.
And now Sarina had brought Lena’s father to life. A father she would never meet. Why had she thought of this? Rona’s question. The amazing Orange Witch. The girl who had used her super-powers to battle the sorcerer and his creation. The very same power she had used to meld the two together to reform Professor Malden. The same power that had brought two universes to their knees.
“Well? It might be the end of the world, but we can still talk.” Rona crept over to Sarina and huddled up.
Sarina looked at her. “The Orange Witch? She can do amazing things with her powers. Watch.” She closed her eyes and raised both hands, bringing them together as if holding an imaginary ball. A translucent sphere of orange flame sprang into life between them. In her mind she imagined the roof of the cave, and began to flick fiery fragments of the now-spinning ball up to their smooth rock ceiling, creating a splash-dot painting, piece by piece. After a few minutes she was done, and opened her eyes to see everyone staring up, their faces glowing in the orange light.
The roof of the cave was awash with a vivid monochromatic orange mural, created with dot-by-dot precision, using the dark rock of the roof as contrast. An over-sized image of a disgruntled Sir John Drysdale leered down at them, showing his disappointment in Sarina’s efforts.
Rona laughed. “And that’s what you chose to paint with that power? Shows the state of your mind.” She smiled briefly, and watched as the image began to lose its luminosity. “You need to hear that phrase again, no matter how clichéd: You can control your focus—”
“—instead of letting fear control it for you. I know. I’m not afraid actually. I just feel like ... well exactly as Drysdale said. There’s something missing.”
“Not from where I stand, there is not,” Andreas said. He had returned from the discussions at the cave’s entrance. “All we have ever seen is a courageous young woman doing her best for everyone else.”
“Didn’t work though, did it?” She eyed Andreas. A young woman, he had called her, but she felt a million miles from womanhood. No matter what world she was in, she was just a girl. “No power in the world is going to stop our universes from imploding, is it?”
“What did you say?” Malden perked up. He had been watching Sarina’s painting with interest.
“I said it didn’t work, did—”
“No. After that. Something about power.”
“Well it’s true isn’t it. There’s no power in the world to stop it, is there?”
He stared at her. “Spot on, my dear. There is no power in this world that can fix that rift. But think about it—where was the rift first created?”
She opened her mouth, stopped, then continued, feeling the blood rush to her brain as she made the connection. “In our world. Professor—are you saying our only chance to fix this is from back in our own world?”
He nodded, his eyes shining. “Maybe. I mustn’t have been thinking straight before. I was thinking we had to plug the hole from here.” He frowned. “But we’d still need a huge concentration of rem-power.” He brightened back up and grinned at her. “Can you get me—and you—back there? With your ... power?” He gestured to the faint glowing image on the cave roof.
“I can’t—”
She saw Malden’s face fall, so she stood and straightened tall.
“—but the Orange Witch might be able to.” She smiled at him.
Malden clapped his hands. “Then we must do so.”
“What is this levity?” Andreas had gone back to the others and now returned with Tomas and Paolo. “An evil storm draws ever closer; our world has little time left to enjoy, yet you clap? Has Makthryg’s madness repossessed you?”
Malden shook his head. “Sir, if we act quickly, then there is a chance we can save both worlds.”
“Then explain, for we three are about to set off to our township to make farewells with our loved ones. We would hope to get there before this storm takes us.”
“Andreas, do you remember when all the kids came out of the sky and distracted Makthryg and Valkrog?” Sarina said. Talking about the sorcerer and the bird-man in that way was disconcerting, knowing the sum of them both sat beside her.
“Yes. They were apparitions from your world, were they not?”
“In this world, that’s how they appeared, yes. But they are real kids. Kids with powers like mine, only ... not as strong”—she saw Malden’s sideways curious glance and ignored it—“I think the Professor has some idea where we could drum up more power than we have in this world—”
“And more than that,” Malden interrupted, his eyes bright, “the rift was first created there. To try to fix it from here would always be far more difficult—like trying to repair your roof from the cellar. But if we can get back, and if we can assemble enough power ... then there is a possibility Harrison and I could fabricate a solution.”
“But?” Paolo had heard it too. An underlying hint of hesitancy in Malden’s tone.
Malden looked at the stocky boy. “We would need someone on this world located at, or very close to the coordinates where the ... my creature first found the collider. Someone who knows how to relay that information back to our world. Someone who has a strong connection with people in our world. We’ll need to plot the rift in order to seal it, if my thinking is correct, and the problem is that this rift is not visible like a portal.”
Paolo furrowed his brow. “What is the problem? I can do this. If you were Makthryg again you would know Sarina and I first met in our dreams, across the gulf of our worlds.”
Malden licked his lips nervously. “That would be of great benefit, if ...”
“If?”
“If someone from our world were here with you. Perhaps I wasn’t clear. The someone on this world that we need? That someone needs to be someone from our world. Energetically it would be our best chance to gain a fix from our world: a link back to one of our own.” He turned to look at Rona.
“No!” Sarina shouted. “You can’t! I won’t let her! She’ll never get back home without me.”
Rona regarded Sarina evenly. “Not only will I do it—after all, we’re talking about saving two entire universes here—but you will let me. Think about it. If—when you are successful in fixing the rift, this world will be saved, and I will be marooned here. From what I can tell given your obvious deep love for them, the people here are as decent as they come.”
“But you can’t—”
“Sarina. Look.” Rona pointed to her legs. “Would you trade these? I can make a new life here
.” She turned back to Malden. “Yes, of course I’ll do that, as long as you give me some instruction.”
“Then I will rest here with you, and provide more of this rem-power you need when the time comes.” Paolo stood firm, his fists clenched by his sides.
“What Township Elder would allow a boy and a woman to be left alone in this.” Andreas pointed over his shoulder at the wind whipping past the cave’s entrance. “We will all remain with you.”
Rona stood up and planted herself in front of Andreas, close to his face, her hands on her hips. “Excuse me? I have legs now, and I challenge you to beat me in any race you choose.” Then she dropped her arms and embraced the surprised man. “But your presence will be most cherished, should the boy and woman prove far too weak to do it by themselves.”
Tomas laughed. “You have met your match, Andreas!”
Sarina watched Rona laugh with them and marvelled at her ability to deal with the darkest drama. She wondered if she would be as able to remain optimistic if they managed to see their plan through. She had no doubt Professor Malden’s plan was fraught with precarious potential for failure. Defeat was still pursuing them, and with a vengeance. And the Professor had no idea the mess the Dreamer Kids were in. She caught Rona looking at her, and raised her eyebrows.
Rona’s eyes danced. “I know where your switch is now, Sarina. You need to use it at every opportunity. The Orange Witch brings it out—you said so yourself: ‘I can’t, but The Orange Witch might be able to’. We all need that part of you, now more than ever.”
Sarina drew herself up and glanced at the roof, where the image of Dreary Drysdale was fading. Rona was right. If anyone could do this, it was the Orange Witch. She walked to the cave entrance, unperturbed by the wind plucking at her clothes and the dark, serious sky.
She raised her hands to the air and yelled. “Do you hear me? I am coming, and nothing will stop me!” She threw back her head and released two crackling bolts of incandescent orange lightning from her hands, letting them arc high into the black clouds. The sky responded with a menacing clap of thunder, closer now than ever.
The Dreamer Chronicles Trilogy Boxed Set Vol I - III: A Sci-Fi Parallel Universe Adventure (The Dreamer Chronicles - Science Fiction For Kids And Adults) Page 89